Barry in the Chamber, 24 April

Posted by Barry Sheerman on April 25, 2018

Yesterday, I asked Rory Stewart, the Minister of State at the Ministry of Justice, on skills training in Prisons. Here's what I said:

Transcript:

Barry: I apologise for being late, Mr Speaker, but I was at the unveiling of the first statue of a woman in Parliament Square. May we have an evaluation of how far we have got? Some years ago, when I was Chair of the Education Committee, we looked at skills training in prisons, but I do not think that much has happened since then, particularly for people on the special educational needs spectrum, and especially those with autism.

Rory Stewart, the Minister of State for Ministry of Justice: There has been a significant improvement in the Ofsted reports, but the hon. Gentleman is absolutely right that people with special educational needs, in particular, and the more than 50% of prisoners who have previously been excluded from school or have literacy challenges remain a big issue for education in prisons.